Stress is body’s response to pressure, according to the Mental Health Foundation (MHF), and it is understood that people deal with it differently.
Workplace stresses, for instance, are often made worse by the high work load and funding constraints under which much humanitarian work is carried out.
It is understood that to deal with stressful moments, some people slowly take deep breaths in and out while others find a way to relax their muscles.
For the Executive Director of Chapter Four Uganda, Nicholas Opiyo, whenever he finds himself in stressful situations, he grinds his teeth, sometimes, subconsciously.
Although the method has caused the human rights lawyer some dental discomfort, it has helped him deal with stress.
‘One of the ways in which I deal with stressful situations is to grind my teeth’, Nicholas tweeted.
According to the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS), teeth grinding and jaw clenching, also called bruxism, is often related to stress or anxiety.
‘It often happens during sleep, or while concentrating or under stress, and it can wear down your teeth over time’, the NHS said on its website.
Nicholas said he had sought treatment in order to prevent damage and reduce the ‘stress’ to his teeth.
He said, ‘In the last year, I subconsciously did this so much that I now have to attend an intensive dental treatment [and] wear a mouthguard to prevent further damage. The little price we pay in significant ways’!
Some of Nicholas’s followers were triggered by his tweet as they recounted similar experience with bruxism; others wished him well.
‘I had one of those with a metal bridge at the bottom. Cost me $300 years ago. I bit right through it. Good luck’, one user said.
The convener of the Centre for Law and Emerging Technologies, Robert Kirunda, also was taken aback by Nicholas’s teeth-grinding discomfort.
Robert tweeted, ‘This is no little price! More wind to your sails, Bruv’!
‘I [do not] grind, I clench. Paid my regular dentist several hundred dollars, some years back, for a rubbery, custom bite-guard that made me clench even harder, like a pitbull with a booda bone. TMJ specialist at BU Dental School later told me that hard plastic was much better’, another user tweeted.
Regular exercising, nutritious dieting and resting are also proven ways to reduce stress.
Source: Nicholas Opiyo
Photo source: Nicholas Opiyo
